Prince of the Cleansing Flames
by PJO Fan Power
Summary: Natsu Dragneel is an orphan boy after his village is destroyed. He is found by two dragons: The Fire Dragon King, Igneel, & Veltaris, Queen of the Heavenly Dragons. Together, the two mates raise the child and teach him their magic, before suddenly disappearing one day. Features a slightly smarter!Natsu, stronger!Natsu, Fem!Laxus, and NatsuxFemLaxusxMira, & possibly a harem later. M
1. Chapter 1

Up on one of tallest mountain ranges laid a mountain unlike any other. Despite having many active volcanoes to its east, and blisteringly cold mountains covered in fog to its west, this particular mountain was full of lush greenery, wild life, and vegetation. The nature here, however, was not entirely natural. Rather, it was the result of the mingling of two extremely powerful forces...

Dragons.

From the volcano chain to the east hailed the King of the Fire Dragons, Igneel. The Fire Dragon King was one of, if not the most prideful dragon of the entire bunch, and he had the power to back it up. From the mountain chain to the west came Veltaris, the Queen of the Heavenly Dragons. Veltaris was compassionate and kind, yet, like all dragons, fiercely loyal and powerful.

The two had met decades prior, and after an intense battle, discovered their mating instincts reacting to one another. However... this story is not about them. This story, rather, is about a peculiar occurrence near the base of the utopia-like mountain.

You see, near the base laid a village. This village, like many others in the time, was relatively isolated, yet, today, it saw newcomers. These newcomers were definitely not welcome, though. They were Dark Mages, practitioners of magic solely focused on harming people, or using the magic for their own twisted means.

Very few of the villagers were Mages themselves. They were a mostly self-sufficient group, except for a sole child. He was the reason for the two dragons to set aside their daily routine to take a trip down to the village. Or, more accurately, former village. Everywhere, buildings were on fire, and the scent of blood and burning flesh was heavy in the air.

The sole child at the center of the village had black hair and dark eyes, and couldn't have been older than two. However... around him, the air was so heavy with raw magic that it became difficult to breath. Near him, the dark mages that tried to harm him started to dissolve, as their bodies couldn't take the strain of even being so close to the pure magic.

All of the sudden, the Dark Mages were all gone, and the child was the only human being left living in the village. The aura of power around him disappeared, and the boy fell to his knees, head in his hands, sobbing. Cautiously, the two dragons approached the boy. As soon as they got within twenty feet of the boy, his head shot up and the same aura flew out, but the child was exhausted.

Veltaris, the more sincere looking one of the two dragons, approached the child. "Do not fret, child. We are not your enemies. You may rest. We shall watch over you." As soon as she finished the sentence, the boy collapsed.

* * *

Two days later, in a cave on top of the mountain, the boy awoke to the two dragons murmuring around him. "If he accepts, Veltaris, I wish for him to have my name as his legacy."

"What gives your name any more precedence over mine?" Igneel merely smirked.

"Let's put it this way: Either the boy gets my name, or I will sleep in my volcano for the next decade."

"But... I can't sleep in your volcano. The heat is too much for me!" Igneel rolled his eyes.

"Exactly, you big ball of light!" Veltaris' eyes widened, then narrowed.

"Alright, you've convinced me. Darn brat..." She muttered the last part, making the other dragon glare at her.

"W-... who are you?" The boy suddenly croaked out, his throat dry from disuse. The two dragons whirled towards him, looking at him for a second before introducing themselves.

"I am Igneel, King of the Fire Dragons. This here is my wife,"

"Veltaris, Queen of the Heavenly Dragons. We have seen your circumstances, as well as your power and potential, and offer you a unique opportunity."

"We offer to train you in the art of Dragon Slaying Magic. I would teach you my magic, and Veltaris, hers. We are both not getting any younger, and wish to pass our magics on to an heir." The young boy thought for a second, the sights he had seen forcing his body and mind to mature quickly over the forty-eight hour period.

"If I decline?" He finally asked, a defiant look on his face. Veltaris chuckled, a smile on her face. _'We definitely chose well.'_

"We would let you go on your way, onto an unfulfilling life in a world that doesn't deserve someone of your caliber." Surprised by this answer, the boy found himself nodding in agreement. "Alright, child, what is your name?"

"Natsu. It means Summer."

Igneel nodded. "Fitting. Natsu, I bestow to you the gift of my name, in the form of Dragneel. From this day forward, you shall be known to all as Natsu Dragneel, the Prince of Fire and Heaven."

* * *

Over the years, Natsu's hair color turned into salmon, and his eyes into a perfect pink. After all, Dragon Slayers take the attributes of their bodies from the magic held within them, and red and white make pink. Over time, although they were his mentors, Natsu found himself drawing closer to the two dragons, starting to call them 'mom' and 'dad', the replacement to the family he could never remember having.

However, one day, that all changed. Natsu woke up at the break of dawn, ready for another day of hunting and training when he realized something was horribly, horribly wrong. He couldn't find either Igneel nor Veltaris. Their scents were nowhere to be found, except for in the scarf he wore around his neck.

After searching the whole day, he came back to the cave, defeat in his eyes. However, he found something that he had missed in his haste to find his foster parents - a note, and with it, two small octagonal discs.

The note read,

_'Dear Natsu,_

_If you are reading this, that means that it was successful. Your father and I are both deeply saddened to spring this upon you, but the world needs your help. Everywhere, injustices are being committed, and the people need the power of the Dragons to save them. The two discs that were with this note are Dragon Slayer Lacrima, one from me, containing Heavenly Dragon Slayer Magic, and one from your father, containing Fire Dragon Slayer Magic. We are sorry, Little Prince, but there is nothing we can do. Do not try to find us, for we are somewhere no human can be found. Honestly though, we shall be closer to you than ever before, in your heart.  
_

_Love,  
Veltaris and Igneel.'_

Staring at the note, the pink-haired dual Dragon Slayer felt like sobbing. This was the second time he had lost his family, and he was hardly ten. Closing his hands around the two lacrima, one in each palm, he felt the two discs dissolve and seep into his body, two circles appearing and, unknown to him, causing two circles, one red and one white, to overlap on his back.

Falling to his knees, the young Dragon Slayer looked up to the sky and screamed in anguish.

* * *

Two weeks later, in a small city called Magnolia, a blonde girl scoffed as she walked up the stairs to the second floor in the Fairy Tail Guild Hall.

"Whaddya want, Gramps?" The girl asked to the small, white-haired man who was sitting at a desk inside the second floor office. The man laughed.

"What, I can't want to talk with my granddaughter from time to time? See how she's doing?" The girl growled.

"Get serious, old man. Either you have something for me, or you're wasting my time." The 'old man' sighed.

"Very well." He became serious. "We've been receiving S-Class requests from a town not far from Crocus." The blonde threw her hands up into the air.

"So what? Go get-"

"The villagers are reporting sightings of a dragon." The fifteen year old girl's head snapped towards her grandfather.

"That's bullshit. Everyone knows dragons aren't around anymore, Gramps." The guild master sighed, not even bothering to correct her profanity.

"When you get as old as I have, you come to realize that beings as strong as dragons don't just disappear. Based on what we know of their lifespan, a year might as well be a blink to them. It's a possibility that in the last four centuries, they have just been hibernating. No matter what, due to your magic, I am asking you to check it out." The man sighed, realizing that he wasn't winning the girl over. "Please, Lexi..."

The girl rolled her eyes and headed out the door, but not before nodding. "Only because you said please, old man!" She called over her shoulder. Makarov, the master of Fairy Tail, closed his eyes slowly, sighed, and let out a shaky laugh. He could only hope that nothing bad happened. He looked at the bottom text. 'S-Class Mission!'

* * *

Lexi drudged up the mountain. On one side laid a range of dormant volcanoes, and on the other, a group of desolate peaks. She briefly wondered what was in the center of the ring of mountains, but waved the thoughts away. She was here for a job, nothing more. But... there were no signs of a dragon. Even the town at the base of the mountain was actively prosperous.

They had welcomed her with gratefulness, and with her magically enhanced hearing, could hear whispers of things like "Finally, she'll make that monster leave!" But, during the trek up the mountain, the most harmful thing she had seen were a few doe. The mountain was filled with life, no signs of an apex predator among them.

At the peak, that story changed, however. She could sense a large magical presence within one of the caves. As soon as she stepped onto the peak, that presence turned hostile. "Here to exterminate me?" A voice growled from an open mouth of earth. Lexi processed these words, along with the tinge of loneliness surrounding them.

"If that's what it takes for you to leave this town alone, then yes." A sharp cackling was heard from the cave.

"Leave _them _alone?" The voice was hysterical. "I went down there for some food a few days ago. They looked at me, and thought I was demon-spawn. They chased me out with pitchforks, even." Lexi frowned. If that was true, it explained plenty about the mission.

"It doesn't matter." She decided. "I was tasked a mission, and a Fairy Tail wizard never fails a mission!" A small figure appeared at the mouth of the cave opposite to Lexi.

"A mage, eh?" The boy smirked, his pink eyes flashing open and glowing. "Let's make a deal then. If you beat me, you can do whatever you want with my body. Kill me, salvage it for parts, sell it to traders..." Lexi bristled at the implied accusations. "But if _I _win... We get to have a talk about this 'Fairy Tail' you mentioned."

Lexi snorted. "Out of everything you could've asked for, you chose that?" Nonetheless, Lexi had the pride of a dragon, and she refused to back down from any challenge. "I accept, even though I might feel bad about beating up a little kid later." Her opponent stared her in the eyes, and grinned, showing her his sharp canines. White flames started appearing around his feet.

"I'm all fired up..." He whispered to himself.

Both fighters waited for their opponent to make the first move. Finally, Lexi grew impatient and dashed towards the pink-haired boy, intending to finish the fight in one blow.

"_Lightning Dragon's Breakdown Fist!_" She yelled, causing a large electrical fist to be thrown at her opponent. The boy dodged the attack.

"Dragon Slayer Magic, huh...? How pathetic..." He spoke uncaringly. The statement angered Lexi, who growled,

"What's wrong with Dragon Slayer Magic, huh? I bet all you have is some sort of speed magic, don't you? That's how you dodged that attack, isn't it?!" She demanded to be answered.

"There's nothing wrong with Dragon Slayer Magic, but you're so weak. I can't believe a dragon actually took someone like you in!" Lexi glared.

"I'm not weak, I just didn't want to kill you, you idiot!" The second sentence then sunk in. "Wait... you don't mean to say that you were actually taught this magic by actual dragons, do you?" The boy's eyes flickered with sadness, but the emotion disappeared as soon as it came.

"I do... you must be a fake Dragon Slayer, then. Lacrima?" He guessed, which Lexi reluctantly nodded to.

"I think you're lying to me. Dragons went extinct hundreds of years ago, everyone knows that!" The boy growled.

"So, you don't believe me then. Fine," He got into a battle stance. "Let me show you the power of a **real **Dragon Slayer, then!" Energy started to accumulate around the boy, before he dashed at the girl.

_"Heavenly Fire Dragon's Cleansing Fist!_" His opponent was barely able to dodge the attack, astounded by the sheer speed and power of the move. Where she had stood before laid a crater half a dozen feet wide.

"You idiot!" Lexi yelled. "Are you actually trying to kill me?" The pink-haired boy simply shrugged.

"If you could not survive that attack, you wouldn't be worth letting live, much less fighting." The boy's nonchalant attitude towards death angered the girl.

"_Lightning Dragon's Heavenward Halberd!_" She cried, letting loose a spear of lightning. The attack surprised the boy, giving him a shallow cut on his cheek.

He raised a finger to the cut, pulling away a few droplets of blood. He growled at the sight, raising a hand to his face and incanting, "_Heavenly Dragon's Healing Pulse._" His pointer finger lit up, and he pressed it against his cheek, grimacing. When he pulled the finger away, the light went out, and it revealed healthy pink skin in the place of the cut.

"It seems that I underestimated you. Oh well..." The boy sighed. "My name is Natsu Dragneel. Yours?"

Lexi grit her teeth at seeing her progress undone. "Lexi Dreyar." She waited for the inevitable quip about her grandfather, but it never came.

"Lexi Dreyar...? Alright... I'll remember that." He nodded his head. Suddenly he dug his heel into the ground.

"_Fire Dragon's..._" He inhaled loudly, making Lexi's eyes widen. "_ROAR!_" The torrent of flames was easily six feet in diameter, probably greater, and moved like a bullet, scalding Lexi's arm, and carving a hole through the mountainside. The female Dragon Slayer turned her body intangible to get rid of the residual flames, and started patting the red skin as she became tangible again.

Unfortunately, this distracted her for too long. "_Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!_" Natsu slammed his fist into Lexi's face, sending her across the clearing. The girl screamed in pain and anger, smoke coming off of her body. Channeling her energy into one final attack, she shouted,

"Resounding through the air, the roar of thunder, plunge from the heavens and reap destruction! _Raging Bolt!_" The lightning strike barreled down towards Natsu. Lexi watched it in slow motion.

Natsu looked at the bolt, and held both hands up, one shining red, and one shining white. "_Heavenly Fire Dragon's Cleansing Flame!_" He yelled, causing a magic seal to appear in front of the bolt. As soon as the lightning passed through it, it glowed pink and simply... dissipated. Natsu fell to a knee, panting slightly. He slowly got to his feet, and looked at his opponent, who looked to be on the verge of passing out from magical exhaustion.

"You..." He looked down and dusted off his pants. "are really strong!" He looked up and smiled, shocking Lexi. He walked over, and the girl sighed, knowing she could do nothing to stop what was about to happen. He knelt down next to her, and whispered, "This will only hurt a bit, I promise."

"_Heavenly Dragon's..."_ Lexi closed her eyes, waiting for her last moments. "_Healing Pulse!" _Her eyes flashed open. Natsu's left hand glowed a pure white as he swept it over her arm and face, giving off a soothing feeling as the burns subsided, and the bruise on her face faded. Her mouth dropped open in shock and ecstasy due to the relieving feel of the light. She unconsciously scooted closer to his hand before the glow faded, and she regained control of her actions.

"Thank you..." She whispered. While she didn't regain her magic, she was no longer in danger of passing out. Natsu grinned in response.

"No problem. After all, it's the strong's responsibility to look after those who are weaker than them." He poked fun at her, but the words made the blonde think for a second, before she shrugged it off.

"So, you wanted to know about Fairy Tail? You won, after all." Natsu put a finger to his lip.

"I didn't really think about this, actually." He chuckled. "Let's start with what is Fairy Tail?" And so the questions came one after another, and by the time they were finished, the sun was beginning to set.

"Do you think the Master would let me in?" Lexi's eyes widened, and she thought about it.

"Probably. You said you were an orphan, right? Gramps is practically running a daycare," She snorted, thinking of the imbeciles.

"Well then, let's go! I'm all fired up!" Natsu smiled.

"Not so fast," Lexi spoke. "I still have to collect my reward for the job." She stood up, her magic core mostly replenished. "Alright, let's go."

* * *

**Woo-hoo, first chapter is done! Just over 3,000 words of content, I'm pretty proud of it. This fanfic will mostly feature a slightly smarter Natsu, although this will be more in the area of strategy than knowledge, as well as a much stronger Natsu, as can be seen in his fight with Lexi, who is a Fem!Laxus.**

**In case you guys didn't catch it in the fight, Natsu is not overpowered! His magic definitely takes a toll on him, and has some more drawbacks that will be mentioned later. While he did, in fact, beat Lexi, it was not by crazy amounts, and this is a fifteen year old Lexi, so she is not as strong as she was at the start of the anime.**

**The current plan for this ship is Natsu x Fem!Laxus x Mira, although it could easily evolve into a full-blown harem if I'm not careful (or if a lot of people wish for it to). Updates will be sporadic, as always! (Sorry!)**


	2. Chapter 2

**I think I'll be going with a harem for this one, unless it's met with furious disapproval. Which I doubt it will be.**

**I'm working on this story right now because I feel like like it. Meh.**

**Oh yeah, for clarification, I am going to be saying Jewel for the monetary system, whether it be singular or plural.**

* * *

"Tch! That's all my sex appeal gets me? A measly thousand Jewel?" A young blonde woman kicked a metal can into the street, her indignation quickly turning to pain as she hopped around on one foot, clutching her hurt toe.

Two girls passed by her quickly, barely sparing the other girl a second glance. "Did you hear? The 'Phoenix' is in town!" The two giggle uncontrollably as the continue towards the city square, leaving behind a slightly-less-in-pain blonde. _'Phoenix? As in, the Fairy Tail Mage Phoenix? The one who uses fire magic that you can't buy in stores?!' _She thought excitedly. _'This could be my chance to get into Fairy Tail!'_

The girl quickly followed the other two girls that had passed her to the main square of Hargeon. There was an ever-growing circle around the center of the plaza, and when Lucy broke though the circle, she found herself staring at a young, dark-blue haired man. She could feel her heart beating quickly. _'This feeling... is this love? Is it because he's a famous mage?' _

* * *

"Hey, Natsu?"

"Yes, Happy?" The pink-haired teen waited for another question about fish.

"Do you think that this 'Phoenix' might actually be Igneel?" This made the teen laugh.

"Nah, I doubt it. Igneel never stayed in one place for too long, and I doubt that he would ever come to a random port-town like Hargeon." He responded. Happy nodded with his answer, but another thought struck him.

"Wait, don't people call _you _Phoenix, Natsu?" This made Natsu roll his eyes.

"Yes, Happy. That's one of my monikers, which is why we're here."

"But I thought we were here to find Igneel..."

"Igneel isn't going to be here, Happy. More likely, someone is trying to impersonate me."

"Impersonate? What does that mean? Does it have something to do with fish?" The blue Exceed yelled excitedly.

The Dragon Slayer laughed. "Yeah, something like that, buddy."

A few minutes later saw the duo entering the town of Hargeon. Even before they had entered the town, Natsu had been hearing screams and shouts thanks to his enhanced Dragon Slayer senses. As they entered into the main plaza, Natsu let some of his Fire Dragon Slayer Magic ripple across his body, increasing the temperature in the area. As he walked towards the circle, people started to feel the effects, and turned towards him.

As he walked to the circle, the people parted out of his way until he got to the center, where he met face-to-face with a dark-blue haired man who had his hands in his pockets, shifting on his feet nervously. "Who are you?" Natsu asked with a dangerous edge to his voice. The other man chuckled nervously.

"I'm Phoenix, surely you've heard of me! Here, have my picture! Signed!" He tossed a couple signed photos at the pinkette, who just stared at the paper before pink flames burst out of his palms and incinerated the papers. Most of the fangirls just looked at him in shock, but the heat he was giving off was enough to deter them from doing anything stupid.

"I don't care about fakers. C'mon Happy, let's go." And as quickly as he appeared, the man left, his heat with him, and besides the 'Phoenix' sweating a little bit, it was almost like he had never appeared in the first place... except for a single blonde girl. She made to run after the man, but was stopped by the Phoenix's voice.

"And don't forget, there's a party on my yacht, and you all are invited!" He yelled to the crowd, making them swoon at his 'kindness'. "_Red Carpet!_' He shouted, hopping on a carpet made of fire, and heading out to his large boat sitting in the harbor. Rolling her eyes, the blonde girl continued to run after the mysterious pink-haired man who had saved her mind, possibly.

A few hundred feet later, she finally caught up to him. "Hey!" She yelled after him, making him turn around. "I just wanted to thank you for helping me out back there?" The man raised an eyebrow.

"You mean with that guy? I wasn't doing it for you in particular, but whatever." This put the blonde into a slight pout.

"Well, whatever. The least I could do is treat you to lunch, right?"

The man nodded. "Lunch sounds good, ne, Happy?" The aforementioned Exceed was doing circle around the pink-haired boy's feet, chanting 'Fish! Fish! Fish!', causing Natsu to sweatdrop. "Sorry, he's a little singleminded."

After getting into the restaurant, the girl introduced herself. "I'm Lucy! It's nice to meet you!" The pinkette nodded distractedly.

"So what were you saying thank you for, again?"

"You see, that Phoenix guy was using a Charm spell, a type of hypnosis spell. I only noticed because he put his hand in his pocket when you came near him, and he had a charm ring on!"

The man scratched his chin. "That sounds like it'd be illegal, but that might just be me." Lucy nodded her head.

"It is! It's very illegal, it was outlawed by the Magic Council years ago." The guy nodded, thinking it made sense. All of the sudden, the waitress came over, delivering the guy's meal, three steaks, and a glass of whiskey. Lucy's eyes widened. That cost more than the Jewel she had saved by... _enticing _the shop owner to be kinder on his prices. She silently mourned her purse.

Almost instantly, the food and drink was gone. The guy stood up and threw a wad of Jewel on the table. "That should be more than enough for the meal," he spoke, cutting off Lucy's explanation of Magic and Guilds right as she was getting to the guild she wanted to join. "See you around..." He spoke, before exiting the building. "...not..."

"Well, that was weird..." Lucy spoke, almost to herself. Then, she took a look at the wad of Jewel the guy had thrown on the table. It had to be at least three times the cost of the meal! _'Is it a tip...? Morals, I can feel you wavering... don't fail me!'_

Ten minutes later, Lucy sat on a bench outside the restaurant, nursing her fallen morals with the most recent edition of Sorcerer's Weekly; a special edition focused around the S-Class Mages of Fairy Tail! This was a godsend for Lucy, as she was utterly, hopelessly addicted with the guild. Or, more accurately, with one of their most mysterious members - The S-Class Mage, 'Phoenix'. That was why she had been so excited to hear about the man appearing right in the town she was in. However, her hopes had been dashed the moment that mysterious man had come near him, breaking the trance. Somehow, she didn't believe that the so-called loner S-Class Mage would have used attention-seeking magic.

She flipped into the magazine, looking at the best that Fairy Tail had to offer. Of course, on the first page was their Guild Master - Makarov Dreyar. The Fifth Wizard Saint was easily the most powerful mage of the guild, but he had many competitors for it. The next of the list was Gildarts Clive, a mostly-traveling user of Crash Magic, a Magic with the capability to dissemble any nonliving thing with a mere thought.

Further down the list was Lexi Dreyar, the granddaughter of Makarov Dreyar. She was a Lightning Mage with masterful control over her abilities, and travelled with the Raijinnashuu, the Thunder Goddess Trio, aptly named as the followers of the mage with the epithet 'The Thunder Goddess'. There was a picture of this mage - She was a moderately tall blonde girl, with wild hair, and a dark scar over one eye. In the picture, she was also wearing a pair of old headphones, and leaning against an unseen wall.

Next were the duo of the Demon and the Titania. Another beautiful women in her own right, Mirajane Strauss, formerly known as the Demon, was a slightly short, platinum haired girl with a charming smile. As Lucy read on, she found that after the death of her youngest sister, she stopped taking on jobs almost entirely, and turned to modeling. Lucy started to look over at the other S-Class' picture, she found herself interrupted by the creep from earlier.

"So, you're interested in joining Fairy Tail?" Lucy let out a shriek as she quickly turned around and saw the blue-haired creep.

"Yeah, I am." She spoke after regaining her composure. "Why do you care?"

'Well," He started with a charming smile, "if you decided to come to party later tonight, maybe I'd tell you." Lucy just rolled her eyes.

"Don't even try. The weakness of Charm Magic is the knowledge of it, you weirdo. So you can't affect me!" The word 'weirdo' formed an arrow in the air and stabbed the fake 'Phoenix' in the chest, but he recovered quickly.

"Tch. Whatever. It just so happens that I'm a member of Fairy Tail! And as long as you stay quiet about the Charm Magic, I'll put in a good word for you with the Master." Normally, this would seem incredibly shady, but Lucy had stars in her eyes at the thought of joining her dream guild.

"I can join Fairy Tail?" 'Phoenix' nodded.

"Yeah, as long as you keep quiet about the Charm Magic." Instantly, Lucy latched onto the man's arm and spoke in the most charming voice she could muster,

"I'd _love _to go to your party tonight, Phoenix-sama!" The man grinned a dark grin, and thought to himself, _'Well, that was easier than I thought it would be...'_

He slipped away from the girl, activating his _Red Carpet _again, and calling back. "I'll see you there! Remember, not a word about the charm!" Enthusiastically, Lucy nodded, then blinked once he got far away.

"What was that... some pseudo-charm? Whatever, it doesn't matter, I'm joining Fairy Tail!" The blonde cheered to herself, not noticing her forgotten magazine drift over to the last page thanks to the wind, showing the current active bounties from the Magic Council.

* * *

"Hey, Natsu?"

"Yes, Happy?"

"If that guy was using Charm Magic, and pretending to be you, wouldn't that give you a bad reputation?" Natsu shrugged to his blue-furred companion.

"I don't really care about my reputation, Happy."

"Well, wouldn't that also give Fairy Tail a bad reputation?" Natsu was about to shrug again, but then he processed the words. He stopped walking, and turned around slowly with a dark smile on his face, contrasting deeply with his pink eyes.

"Hey, Happy...?"

"Yes, Natsu?"

"I have a feeling we'll be eating well tonight."

* * *

"Now, open wide and savor the fruit flavored gems as they enter your mouth." Lucy closed her eyes and internally growled. _'Just have to deal with this for a little longer...' _All of the sudden, her eyes snapped open, and she bat the droplets of wine away.

"What is the meaning of this? That's magic to knock people out, Sleep Magic!" 'Phoenix' sighed.

"You're pretty sharp." He noted.

"Don't get any ideas. I want to join Fairy Tail, but I have no intention of becoming your girlfriend." Lucy spoke sharply. The man laughed in response.

"Welcome to my ship, girlie!" He swept his arms out, and from the walls, corridors opened, revealing multiple buff men with the other girls unconscious, and slung over their backs.

"What is this?" Lucy questioned, looking around frantically.

"Welcome to my-" All the sudden, a large explosion rocked the ship, cutting the 'Phoenix' off. He looked around frantically, then motioned to the bodyguards.

"What are you doing just standing around? Go find-"

"**Too late**." The man broke out into a cold sweat as he noticed all of the bodyguards slumping over, the girls in their arms now resting against the walls.

'Phoenix' turned around quickly, in an attempt to defend himself. He was too late, however, as a fist rocketed into his side, launching him across the room.

"Urgh..." The blue-haired mage unsteadily got to his feet. "What do you want, you monster...? Booze? Money? Women? Whatever it is, I can give it to you!" He tried to save his own hide, instantly backing down at the first hint of a fight. The other man growled at this. Looking towards him, Lucy belatedly realized that he was the same pink-haired man that had saved her earlier.

"**Why do you fools always assume that offering me women helps your chances**?" He wondered aloud as he slowly walked towards the unstable man.

"G-get back! I'm warning you!" The words had no effect on the steadily approaching man. "_Prominence Typhoon_!" The mage conjured a purple swirl of fire, which blasted the other man in the face. Lucy closed her eyes, seeing her chances of escaping rapidly fall, at least, until she heard a slurping sound coming from the center of the vortex. She watched, awestruck, as the fire disappeared into the pink-haired man's body at a lightning fast rate.

"Hey, blondie!" Lucy was snapped back into reality by the call of the small blue feline from earlier's voice.

"Talking cat!" She shouted, ignoring the Exceed's dejected mutter of 'I'm an Exceed...'

"Grab my hands! You don't want to be near Natsu when he gets angry!" The Exceed sprouted wings, and grabbed Lucy's confused palm, and quickly whisked her off the ship just as the temperature started to rise. A hundred feet or so from the shore, Happy suddenly stopped.

"Eh? What's wrong?" Lucy asked.

"I'm out of magic..." The Exceed replied as they both started to plummet towards the water.

"You damned cat!" Lucy yelled as she hit the water, quickly resurfacing.

Meanwhile, back on the ship, the fake Phoenix was currently laying face-down on the floor of the boat. "What... are you...?" He croaked out.

"**I believe that you all call me the Phoenix, Bora the Prominence**." The revealed Bora started shaking.

"P-please... don't kill me!" Phoenix snorted.

"**I don't kill people**." Bora sighed in relief. "**But I can't guarantee that prison will be much better. _Fire Dragon's Iron Fist_**!" Phoenix's right fist swung towards the opposing mage, connecting, and sending him impacting through the opposite wall, sending him all the way to the shoreline, where he laid.

Lucy and Happy were on the other side of the ship, and didn't see this. "I should help him!" Lucy exclaimed. "_Gate of the Water-Bearer, Aquarius_!" She turned to Happy. "I'm a Celestial Mage, see. I use gate keys to call spirits from alternate dimensions!" From her outstretched hand, light shone, and took the form of a mermaid looking creature.

The mermaid took a single look at Lucy, and went, "Tch."

"Did you just 'tch' me?" Lucy glared at her spirit. "You really shouldn't complain like that."

"Whatever. The only reason I actually came is because of the power well nearby."

"Power well?" Lucy questioned.

"Aye!" Happy chirped. "She must be talking about Natsu! He's a mage, too!"

"Ah..." Lucy replied, obviously lost. "Well, Aquarius, use your power and sweep that ship onto shore!" She pointed at the yacht. Aquarius gave another 'tch' before gathering power in her urn. Quickly, waves swept around the body of water.

Back on the ship, Natsu looked outside to see the tidal wave gathering and cursed. Quickly, he gathered up all of the girls on the ship and jumped off the edge, focusing his magic into his feet before shooting off to the shore in a streak of light. He 'accidentally' dropped the girls in the water a few feet from the shore, effectively ruining their makeup and clothes despite landing perfectly himself.

He gathered Bora, and started whistling for Happy to find him.

However, the poor Exceed was caught between a shouting match between mage and spirit. "I'm going off on a vacation... next time you call me better be to introduce me to this power well... he's gotta be a hunk..." Aquarius whispered dreamily with a blush on her face as she popped back into the Celestial Realm. Suddenly, a sharp whistle cut through the air. Happy grabbed onto Lucy and zoomed towards the source of the sound, ignoring Lucy's indignant shout of 'Wait!'

They quickly got to shore, where Lucy was subsequently dropped. She looked up and nearly did a spit take as she looked upon Natsu looking as in good of condition as before with a certain blue-haired mage over his shoulders. "Let's get going!" He yelled over the sound of the wave hitting the shoreline, crashing into the docks.

"Where are we going?" Lucy shouted back as she followed the pink-haired mage.

"Well, you were there because you wanted to join Fairy Tail, right?" He gave her a toothy grin and showed her his right shoulder, revealing a white Fairy Tail symbol with a red outline. "You might've heard of me as Phoenix, but just Natsu is fine."

* * *

"Are you sure your master will be fine with me joining?" Lucy asked for the umpteenth time.

"Yeah! Based on what you did to Hargeon, I think you'll fit in perfectly!" Natsu responded whilst cashing in the bounty on Bora the Prominence, counting through the Jewel.

Lucy seemed to shrink in on herself at the mention of Hargeon.

They came to a stop in front of the guild doors. Natsu made a hand motion to be quiet as he put his ear up to the door. Lucy did the same, and in doing so, heard frantic running and shouting. "Natsu's back!" Lucy looked over to Natsu, who was snickering.

Pulling back his leg, Natsu kicked open the twin doors in a display of physical prowess. "Hey, what's up guys?" Natsu waved. The guild froze at the sight of him, but the silence was broken by a platinum-haired girl launching herself at the Dragon Slayer with a squeal of "Natsu-kun!"

"Hello, Mira! How has the guild been while I've been gone?" With this, the guild launched back into their normal activities, seeing that Natsu was in a good mood.

"It's been pretty good, Natsu-kun." Mira replied as she held the boy in a deep hug.

"You know you don't have to call me kun, right, Mira? We've known each other far too long for that."

_'Wow... Mirajane Strauss... in the flesh!' _Lucy was preoccupied by looking around the guild. However, one by one, her idols began to be unveiled, and her hopes fell until she was utterly depressed. All around the guild, people were getting ready to fight each other, as one extremely buff man yelled, "Man!" As he rushed forward to punch a black-haired teen who... wasn't wearing a shirt, revealing a silver cross necklace around his neck.

The guild started rushing towards each other. Meanwhile, Mira and Natsu were now sitting at the bar, acting like there wasn't a large fight going on around them. Well, more accurately, Natsu was sitting at the bar, and Mira was sitting on his lap. Lucy walked over to them, questioning,

"What's going on? Shouldn't we stop this?" Mira just giggled.

"Oh, no, this is normal for Fairy Tail!" As she was saying this, the muscular man that started the fight slid to a stop right at their feet. "Oh, Elfman-nii..." Lucy looked at this, shocked. That ripped monster was related to the petite Mirajane? Suddenly, the man jumped up with a roar of,

"It's not manly to hit a man near his sister!" As he charged back into the rumble. At the other end of the bar, an orange-haired mage spoke up.

"Well, it looks like the fight is heating up. I'll fight, just to protect you two." He said to the two girls currently on either of his arms. After letting go of the two, he started walking towards the fight, his arm starting to glow. Seeing this, a brunette sitting next to a barrel wiped her mouth, and out of nowhere, three cards appeared in her hands.

"Looks like things are heating up." She smirked. As different members started to charge up their different magics, Lucy became progressively more and more worried. However, her fear was for naught, as before any magic could be thrown, the front of the guild was ripped off, and a giant man walked into the guild, stopping all of the members.

**"Stop this, you fools!" **He spoke.

"A Giant?" Lucy squeaked

"Oh, you were here, Master?"

**"Yes. Ah, Natsu, I heard about Hargeon!" **The Giant spoke. Natsu just looked at him and smirked.

"Wasn't me. That was all this new girl's doing over here." He pointed at Lucy, who suddenly became aware of everyone's eyes on her.

**"Ah, it was you?" **Makarov spoke to Lucy, who squeaked out an affirmative. All of the sudden, the Giant started to shrink with a sound like a balloon deflating.

"Nice job!" The now-small Guild Master spoke. _'He's so small...' _Lucy thought, looking at the man. "So you're the new recruit?" He asked, walking around her, before suddenly groping her butt. She shrieked and smacked his hand out of instinct as the man laughed. "Good eye you have here, Natsu!" Mira growled slightly at this. "Welcome to the guild!"

"Yeah, welcome to the guild, Lucy." Natsu said, smiling at her. Mira also smiled, although it was slightly more forced this time.

"Mira, will you go fetch the stamp for Lucy here, please?" Mira glared at him.

"Natsu just got back, Master." The old man paled at the girl's glare.

"On second thought, maybe I'll go get it! Need to stretch these old joints out once in a while!" He chuckled nervously. Almost instantly, the girl's face relaxed and she smiled.

"That sounds like a great idea, Master!"

A few minutes later, the old man came back with a stamp, forcing a bit of magic into it, grumbling around 'silver-haired demons...' under his breath. As he got to Lucy, he asked her where she wanted the stamp.

"Pink, on my hand please!" A moment later, she was officially a member of the guild she had idolized for so long. "I finally did it, mom...! I'm a part of Fairy Tail now!"

* * *

**I am well aware that this chapter seems to focus highly on Lucy. However, this was actually just an introduction to the new Natsu all these years later. Lucy will not be part of the harem, and honestly, not really much of a main character at all.**

**She wasn't exceptionally strong. In fact, her strongest attribute was a loose cannon, and at any given time might decide to not help her at all. Even with Aquarius, she wasn't that much stronger. I also honestly hate her character, as well as the pairing of NaLu. It was just... so, so forced, and there are so many better choices.**

**For the harem, I will not be going with crazy, crazy outlandish choices, such as people from Alvarez, or really even Levy. Levy and Gajeel fit so perfectly, it would almost be a crime to separate them. Another one who definitely won't be in there is Wendy. She's literally like twelve, people. That's just messed up.**

**I may, in the future, create a poll for the harem, but as of right now, I am mostly undecided.**

**If you didn't notice, Lisanna is still 'dead' in this fanfic.**

**I do not plan on doing minor arcs, or stupid arcs revolving around Lucy, which are the Macao Arc, Loke Arc, and Key of the Starry Sky Arc.**

**I currently have plans up to the Battle of Fairy Tail Arc.**

**Sorry to all you NaLu shippers out there!**

**Remember, I'm a review-whore, so you better slap that button!**


	3. Chapter 3

"So, Luigi, have you found a team to join yet?" Lucy jumped as she opened the tiny apartment she had found to live in a few days after joining Fairy Tail.

'BAHHH!" She screamed as she slapped the intruder in the face. Instead of getting angry, the intruder just laughed it off. "Oh, Natsu-san! It's you! AND MY NAME IS LUCY GOSH DARN IT!"

"No problem, Luke, didn't even feel it!" To prove this, he jumped up into the air and did a flip, but ended up hitting his head on the ceiling. He fell back down to the floor, but shook it off quickly. "Anyway, did you find a team to join yet?"

Lucy gave up on him learning her name, and replied, "Yep! Levy-chan invited me to her team, with Jet and Droy! They're called Team-" Natsu cut her off.

"Shadowgear, yes, I know." Lucy blushed in embarrassment, realizing her mistake. "Have you decided to take on a job yet?" Lucy's face lit up.

"Yep! We're going to go grab some really rare book or something!" Natsu nodded, not really interested.

"That's awesome, Luffy. Seems like it'd be perfect for Levy. Keep an eye out on her for me, alright?" Lucy stared at him, making him laugh. "I care for my nakama too, strength doesn't change that."

* * *

A few hours after Team Shadowgear left, an orange-haired wizard named Loke rushed into the Fairy Tail guild hall. "Erza's coming!" He huffed out, slightly out of breath from, presumably, a long sprint. "Erza is... coming..." The man then passed out on the floor. The guild hall was frozen for a second, before people started scurrying around.

Natsu, however, calmly sat at the bar, talking with Mira, munching on some flaming chicken. "Natsu!" Macao yelled. "Why aren't you helping us clean up, aren't you worried about that monster?" As if summoned, the doors blew open, making all of the members freeze in their tracks.

"What's this I hear about a monster?"

"N-nothing, Erza!" Macao squeaked out.

"Erza, fight me!" A dark-haired boy shouted, summoning particles of ice into existence. Erza just fondly sighed as they bounced off her armor.

"Not right now, Gray. I have... _bigger fish to fry_..." The entire guild gulped at these words. Lucky for the members, though, she turned directly to the bar, and the entire guild could feel the magic pressure increase with every step. She stopped inches away from Natsu, who was talking uncaringly to Mira still. "Natsu." Natsu didn't respond, making her growl slightly. "Natsu!" She tried again. Once again, she received no response. Veins popping out, she slammed a gloved fist onto Natsu's head, a resounding _CRACK _bouncing throughout the guild hall. The entire guild hall was silently mourning their inevitable deaths.

Slowly, Natsu turned. "I think I just got bit by a fly... Oh, no, hey Erza!" He smiled. "How's it going?" If glares could kill, Natsu would be a pile of bones. As it was, he sat calmly, still eating some flaming chicken.

"Natsu Dragneel... we have to _talk_." By the time she had finished her sentence, Natsu had already turned around and gone back to talking with Mira, giving no more than a 'No thanks' in response.

"Natsu." Erza tried again, getting ignored. "Natsu!" No response.

"Natsu Dragneel!" Erza yelled for the third time, finally prompting the salmon-haired boy to look at her.

"Fine. What? You have ten seconds, go." Erza blinked.

"I was on the way back from my mission, and had stopped in a bar while I waited for the train to get to the station." Erza was speaking rapidly, while Natsu was looking bored.

"I don't see why this concerns me." Unfazed, Erza continued.

"While I was drinking, I overheard a conversation-" "-Stalker..." Mira whispered. "-between a group of men, and they were talking about some magic that one of them had discovered from the-" Erza was cut off.

"Ten seconds is over." Natsu starting turning back to Mira.

"From the Book of Zeref, Natsu!" At the mention of Zeref, Natsu's face became stoic. After a few moments, he sighed.

"Alright, Mira, you're with me. Erza, we'll meet you at the station in ten." Despite Mira's cry of, "You mean I have to spend time with that red-haired bimbo?", he got up and glared at Mira, who instantly shrunk back a little.

"That 'bimbo' is your nakama, show some respect. Be at the station in ten. No complaints." Mira, who was not on the receiving end of Natsu's glares often, stayed still until he had gone outside, and a pink light shone in the direction of the forest.

"Hey Mira," Wakaba yelled, "whipped!" Flashing a glare in his direction, Mira quickly reminded the old man of why she was called the Demon.

* * *

Outside the train, alongside Happy, Natsu waited for the other two. And then... he heard it. Two women arguing. Sighing, he made his way over, silently creeping up behind Mira. Erza saw him and froze, squeaking out, "H-hi Natsu!" with a slight blush. Mira, who was currently ranting, said,

"That won't work on me, you ska-"

"A-hem." Natsu cleared his throat from behind the white-haired girl. "Hello Erza, hello Mira." Mira's name was said with slight annoyance. Aforementioned girl was blushing furiously, trying to save face.

"H-hey Natsu! I was... was just tell E-Erza here how l-lovely she l-looked today!" She giggled awkwardly. Natsu raised an eyebrow in response. "S-sorry..." Happy whispered in Natsu's ear,

"She liiiiiiikes you!" In response, Natsu help up a finger of flame. Even though Happy knew Natsu would never burn him, the element's presence always spooked him for a second. A whistle blew. Since it was noon, two trains were currently leaving the station, one going in either direction, luckily enough for the group.

"Where are we heading, Erza?"

"What for, Natsu?" She replied in confusion.

"Tickets, Erza. Normal people use them to board trains instead of threatening the attendants." Natsu made a slight jab at Erza's perferred method of... _persuasion_.

Erza blushed again in response, her face going the color of her hair. "O-of course! Well, when these guys were talking-" Another whistle cut her off, showing that the train was going to leave soon.

"Just tell me where we're going."

"Oshibana!"

"See, that wasn't so difficult." Natsu rolled his eyes and walked towards the ticket booth. "Doesn't need to have an entire damn story..."

After picking up three tickets, thanks to Happy counting as a pet and riding free apparently, the four boarded the train. On the ride down to Oshibana, Erza managed to explain the situation.

"So, basically, dark mages found dark magic, and we need to go beat them up?" Natsu summed up the situation rather eloquently. Erza nodded.

"Exactly!"

"So why is this Lullaby so dangerous, again?" Erza put a finger to her lip.

"I... have forgotten. You may hit me."

"Tempting, but save it for the bedroom." Natsu teased, making Erza once again blush furiously. Mira, in an attempt to get Natsu's attention off of Erza, spoke up.

"It's a type of Living Magic. It's said that anyone who hears the flute's song will perish instantly, other than the caster." Natsu nodded.

"Seems unlikely, but okay. Worst case scenario, it's true, we die, the end. Oh well." Happy, who had been sleeping on Natsu's lap, woke up suddenly.

"Dying? We're going to die? No!" He started crying, instantly getting picked up and snuggled by Mira, who had always been captivated by the little creature. Natsu rolled his eyes and tried to ignore his tortured stomach's churning. Despite having done resistance training for three years after coming to civilization, the motion of the trains still seemed to affect him. Mira and Erza, despite their hatred for each other, plastered on a smile.

Because, of course, Natsu was stronger than either one of them individually. And, although it had never happened, even if they managed to function properly as a team, he would most likely still beat them together. Neither one cared that said mage was almost asleep, his senses were superhuman at the very least. He would have no trouble hearing them if they made a fuss. And, if they weren't lying to themselves, each mage found the conversation without constant insults slightly nice.

A few hours later, nearing Oshibana, Natsu made his way towards the bathroom. His stomach could no longer bear the strain of the train ride, it seemed. As he knelt over the toilet bowl, barfing his guts up, the other three managed to be so into making sure that Natsu didn't get mad at them to realize that Natsu wasn't with them. Somewhere along the break, the train stopped, and the occupants were informed that Oshibana was making emergency repairs to its infrastructure, and no trains could pass.

Erza recognized this for what it truly was - Eisenwald putting their plans into action. Rushing off the train, pulling Mira and Happy with her, and still so focused on making Natsu happy, all three managed to leave Natsu on the train.

A few minutes later, Natsu exited the bathroom, slightly less queasy, not even paying attention to the lack of occupants on the train. He collapsed into a booth, directly across from him was the only other passenger on the train. "Sick?" The other man asked. Natsu shifted towards him with half-lidded eyes.

"Something like that," he replied. In shifting, Natsu had revealed his guild mark, which was right below his right shoulder.

"Oh, so you're part of a guild, eh?" The other guy replied.

Dazed, Natsu smiled. "Yeah, Fairy Tail, the best of em..."

"Oh, Fairy Tail, huh? Man, you guys have some great girls... Heh, you should share em with the rest of us! It's only fair you know..."

"Yeah, they are some real pretty girls, huh...?" Natsu sighed wistfully, and thought to himself, _'If only they weren't crazy...' _

Suddenly, the other man had an idea. If he was a Fairy Tail mage, if he could capture him, they could use him as bait or as a hostage for the rest of the light guilds! Those puny light guilds were so weak, they'd give up anything for one of their own. "Hey, bud, can you come over here real quick?" He spoke aloud.

"Yeah, sure..." Natsu stumbled over to the other guy, who suddenly swung a powerful punch of it. Snapping into action, the tired persona he had adapted melted away into his true identity. "You smell of dark magic, _bud_." He spoke. Kageyama, the other guy, started sweating. He was by no means a weak man. Who was this guy, who had just blocked his punch like it was nothing?

Growling, he summoned up shadows to attack the man. However, that plan was foiled as flames started to lick down the man's arms, giving off enough light to dissolve the shadows. As he saw those flames, Kageyama started to piece together who he was dealing with. Fairy Tail, strong, fire magic... "P-... Phoe... Phoenix..." he choked out.

"That's right." Natsu said, a slightly sinister smile on his face. "And you're going to tell me all about your plans, or you're going to start to feel very, very, _very _hot..." Kageyama considered resisting. He was a light mage, after all? He wouldn't really hurt him, right? But, another look at Natsu's face told him another story. "You know, they passed a new law at Era recently, which makes it legal to take physical action against dark mages... after all, you _are _the scum of society, according to the Chairman..." Kageyama paled. He quite liked having all of his limbs, and he'd take dying to Erigor later over dying to Phoenix now.

* * *

Ten minutes later, Natsu hit Kageyama over the head after he had told him everything he had needed to know about their plans. He made sure to pocket the flute that the man had tried so hard to keep the knowledge of from him. After that, he sat in a seat and waited for the train the dock at Oshibana station, for, after all, that's where it was heading to next.


	4. Chapter 4

Erigor chuckled as he watched the train roll into the station, no doubt carrying Kageyama. He didn't really care about the fool so much as the flute he had obtained. Still, he was strong, and his magic was very useful in intimidation. His gaze turned to the train operator who was beside him, whose throat was slit. "What a shame..." he muttered. "He died far too quick. But soon, that Fairy Scum will be here. It's lucky that their Titania sticks out in a crowd, or else my guild members wouldn't have been able to spot her."

His muttering was interrupted by screams coming from the ground floor. He sighed, they were all a bunch of drunken idiots. No doubt one of them had found some more booze that wasn't already empty. He stuck his head over the railing... only to wince back in slight pain as he was bombarded by heat. Had the train caught on fire? No, it would've never made it into the station. That only left one option... Fairy Tail was here. How many though?

He leaped over the railing, hovering in the air using his magic. In the few seconds that he had been away, most of his guild had been wiped out. Colorful flames were everywhere, burning some of the members, though it seemed to stop before death. He looked for the cause of the fire, but was having trouble identifying anyone other than his goons.

There! A blur caught his vision as a shadow leapt down from the rafters. One of his bulkier subordinates was caught with a knee to the chin and was blasted into the wall. With another blast of red flame, the rest of his guild (and the west wing of the train station) went down. Erigor grit his teeth. This was... unexpected.

"Erigor..." The mysterious man's voice drawled. "How... _coincidental_ it is to see you here." The man's tone of voice implied that it was anything but.

"Fairy Scum," Erigor responded. "You've made this all the easier. Kageyama is not here, which means that either he ran away like a coward... or you defeated him, and have brought Lullaby straight to me. After we took out the squadron of Rune Knights, all of the civilians gathered around this station. Using the loudspeakers-" His monologue was interrupted.

"Oh shut it. The shadow dude told me everything I needed to know about your stupid little plan, including trying to kill the guild masters..." The flame mage suddenly looked up, making Erigor gulp at the look in his eyes. "I just happen to have a soft spot for a few of them." He cracked his knuckles, pink flames coming out of each one. Suddenly, he launched himself at the floating mage, who barely managed to evade the attack. Erigor chuckled uneasily.

"You know, they call me 'Shinigami'," Erigor stated. "I am a god of death. You will not defeat me." The mage rose again, steam coming off of him as he raised an eyebrow, staring with glowing, pink eyes at the air user.

"If we're using our monikers, I have a few as well. Light, Archangel, some more that I honestly couldn't give two shits about... but," His gaze focused on the self-proclaimed god. "My most common name is Phoenix." Erigor's eyes widened, although he was internally hitting himself for not realizing it sooner.

"Well, Phoenix... let's see how hard it is to clip your wings. _Magic Wind Palm_!"

* * *

Outside of the station, Erza, Mira, and Happy had finally made it only to see half of the building smoking and in ruins. In the entrance to the station, a full platoon of Rune Knights laid unconscious. The farther in the body, the more damage it sustained. Erza and Mira looked at each other and nodded, both unified under a common purpose - finding Natsu. They hadn't insulted each other in over four hours, a record for the two.

"Half the building is destroyed... I guess that means Natsu made it in," Erza spoke, still feeling guilty over having left him behind on the train. Mira nodded in agreement. Suddenly, an explosion shook the ground as a portion of the roof blew off.

"We need to get in there!" The two girls made their way past the knocked out Rune Knights, Happy following along at a brisk pace. He wanted to be at home, munching on yummy fish! Ah... fish...

* * *

"_Fire Dragon's Grip Strike_!" Natsu yelled as he grabbed Erigor by the throat. Flames ignited into his palm, blasting Erigor down into the floor. He jumped down after him, wincing as he put weight on his left leg. Multiple shallow cuts covered the exterior after Erigor had allowed himself to be hit in order to predict his movements to hit him with another _Magic Wind Palm_.

Erigor slowly got to his feet and chuckled. "Fairy Scum... you're-" Within a second, Natsu was on him, using _Fire Dragon's Claw _to propel his foot down with an ax kick to Erigor's shoulder. He crumpled back to the ground. Natsu stared at the mage, who was twitching.

"For a so-called death god... you're pretty weak..." Natsu spoke in a monotone. He had come here for a challenge, something he was sorely lacking as of late. All he had found was disappointment.

"Don't underestimate me!" Erigor yelled as he used his wind powers to boost him away from the Light Mage. He held up a hand, revealing the Lullaby flute he had somehow retrieved. Natsu grit his teeth in annoyance. "So long, Fairy Fly!" He started to fly away, laughing. Natsu raised an arm to blast him, but a black-colored beam beat him to it. He looked over to the origin.

"Mira, Erza, just in time."

"Hey, I'm here too!" Happy cried, making it into the room.

"Yep, you are buddy." Natsu laughed as the Exceed launched himself into his arms.

"Ugh..." Erigor groaned as he pulled himself to his feet. "Your compassion... ugh... disgusts me..."

Erza landed a metal punch into his gut, making him double over. "Your lack of it disgusts me." She turned back to Natsu, who was sending out a signal to the Rune Knights, letting them know they had Dark Guild members to pick up. "Calling the Rune Knights?" She asked.

"Yup," he responded. "The bounties on some of these pushovers are crazy." Erza rolled her eyes. It wasn't like Natsu needed the money. He had been taking S-Class missions for years, and his expenses were minimal. He turned the pager towards Erza. "The bounty on Erigor is... wait, where is he?" Erza turned around, but was greeted with an empty wall. Outside, Erigor laughed as he summoned a _Wind Wall _while flying away. The barrier of wind extended several hundred feet into the air. Mira glared at the wall.

"Can we blast through it?" Natsu squinted at the wall.

"Probably not. It looks like it has enchantments on it," Mira replied. Natsu looked at her, impressed.

"You can see enchantments now?" Mira blushed.

"Yeah, I've been spending some time with Levy recently."

Erza looked up. "That wall goes pretty high... I could fly over it, but I'm not sure about Mira."

"Oi, what was that you red-haired-" Four hours and thirty-eight minutes of peace between the two was the new record. Natsu cut Mira off with a hard stare, and then turned to Erza.

"Of course Mira can fly over it, since she is a _capable Fairy Tail Mage_," Natsu stressed the last four words heavily. Erza flushed red with shame.

"I'm sorry. You may hit me if you wish," She bowed her head. Natsu rolled his eyes at her theatrics.

"Come on Happy, let's go." While Natsu could fly on his own, he knew his 'son' was feeling left out. Joyful, the blue creature flew at Natsu's outstretched hand and started pulling him up, entirely unaware of Natsu pushing flames out of his feet to boost their speed. "Wow, you're getting strong Happy!" Happy smiled at the praise. Natsu turned back to the other two. "Come on, hurry up already!"

Brought back to the action, the two girls glared at each other, Erza requipping into her Black Wing Armor, while Mira used a basic Satan Soul forme. They flew up next to each other at the same speed, both pushing to catch up to the Pink-eyed Dragon Slayer, and go faster than the other.

The funnel went higher than they thought, and by the time the quartet emerged, Erigor was nowhere to be seen. "Damn... where did he go?" Erza asked.

"Clover Town," Natsu replied.

"How do you know?" Erza questioned, unable to follow his line of thinking. Natsu winked at her.

"It's a secret." Erza started to glare at him, and he simply stuck his tongue out. Suddenly, Mira gasped.

"The Guild Masters are meeting in Clover Town!" She exclaimed, remembering what Makarov had told her before he had left.

"The Guild Masters?" Erza gasped. "We need to go. Now!" Without a further word, she sped off... in the wrong direction. Natsu sighed.

"I'll go get her. You go on ahead, okay Mira?" The model nodded.

"I won't let the Guild Masters get hurt!" She proclaimed, making Natsu smile.

"I'm sure you won't, I believe in you," Natsu said, making Mira blush as he sped off in a pink burst towards Erza.

* * *

**Hi, it's me. I'm aware this chapter isn't really complete, and I'm sorry, but I'm tiiiiired and wanted to post something. Next chapter will come out in a few weeks, will be the fight against Erigor and Lullaby. Please tell me how I'm doing on the dialogue! I'm trying to make Natsu a bit more mature, while still retaining some of his original personality.**

**Thanks, and happy new year.**

**\- PJO Fan Power**

**Fin: 1/1/2020, 2:13 AM**


	5. Chapter 5

Natsu rushed through the air, the pink wings of flame that gave him his moniker streaming behind him. The blue Exceed was firmly snuggled up in his hood, having fallen asleep after a few minutes of using his wings. Natsu still couldn't see Erigor, which was surprising. His dragon-enhanced eyesight was among the best on Ishgar, and he was pretty high up.

Suddenly, he felt the wind shift. He tried to twirl around, but he was two slow to avoid a heavy blow from Erigor that sent him shooting into the train tracks far below. Natsu coughed as his chest hit a rock, but he dug his hands in, his fingers acting like claws to slow his descent. Once he had stopped, he used the rock to propel himself upwards at Erigor.

The dark mage laughed as he dodged out of the way. "You may have nearly bested me back in the train station, Phoenix, but you're in my domain now. When I'm in the air, I'm unbeatable!" His laughing was cut off as Natsu landed an axe kick to his collarbone, sending Erigor a dozen feet down before the winds caught him and lifted him back up.

"Unbeatable, as if," Natsu said. "Stop talking and start fighting. You're boring." As if to emphasize, Natsu yawned and dug a finger into his ear, scratching. Erigor growled, offended by the comment. Charging at Natsu, he forget about his advantage and swung his scythe at the floating dragon slayer. The blade, nowhere near strong enough to break Natsu's skin - especially with Erigor's lack of muscle - bounced off of Natsu's bicep.

The dragon slayer's pink eyes glowed in annoyance as he grabbed the 'Shinigami''s outstretched arm, holding him in place as he pummeled the wind mage, finishing the combo with a _Fire Dragon's Iron Fist_, which sent Erigor into the canyon wall. A few seconds passed, with Natsu looking at the crash site dispassionately as he waited for his opponent to get up again. After about fifteen seconds, the dark mage emerged from the dust, growling.

"_Storm Mail!" _He screamed, the wind starting to surround him. He laughed at his opponent, the crazed noise combined with the blood dripping from his mouth painting a gruesome scene. "Now you've done it. The very air will protect me - you won't be able to defeat me now!" Natsu eyed him with boredom.

"Okay, I'll just waiting for you to tire out, then." Even from far away, he could tell that the wind was literally ripping around the opposing mage, the speeds most likely exceeding two hundred miles per hour. Erigor frowned. That wouldn't do. He couldn't hold Storm Mail for too long - the weakness of any mage. He started manipulating pieces of wind, speeding up the hurtling gusts and sending them at the Phoenix.

Natsu's eyes widened as a burst of air slammed into his gut, spitting as his breath left his lungs. He growled. "Now I'm annoyed. You call _that _armor? This is real armor..." As if it was coming out of his skin, a glowing set of armor emerged and made its way onto Natsu's body. The edges were glowing red, and the interior portions were pure white. Another gust of wind was sent at him as he started to slowly approach Erigor. The burst slowed him down minutely, so he continued his stride.

The wind mage's widened as his opponent took a four hundred mile per hour gust with barely a blink, so he started to get desperate as he sent more and more wind gusts at him, feeling his power drain with each one. Natsu was now in a stalemate against the air, but started to slowly gain ground as Erigor lost power. By the time he had made it to the other mage, Natsu's armored hand tore right through the Storm Mail, grabbing Erigor by his neck.

Erigor, now almost powerless and exhausted, dropped his scythe into the chasm below and dangled like a rag doll. "Un... be... lieve... a... ble..." Erigor coughed in between syllables, his eyelids drooping as he passed out.

"Believe it," Natsu started, "but be proud I used this armor against you. Summoning it takes quite a bit out of me. See you later... in a jail cell." He placed his other hand over Erigor's face, concentrating hard... "_Mask of Naturna_," he spoke, a white light glowing as a semi-permeable light covered Erigor's face over the span of a minute. The mage's breathing stabilized as his face was healed, but he was left asleep.

Natsu slung the unconscious mage over his shoulder, his armor disappearing as he did so - his limited Requip skills taking up a good deal of magic due to the powerful magical properties of the armor.

Perfectly on time, Mira and Erza showed up, the latter blushing at her lack of navigational abilities. Mira's eyes widened at the sight of the defeated dark mage Natsu was carrying. "You beat him by yourself?" She asked, pouting. Natsu laughed, smiling as he got closer.

"Yep, sorry about that. I meant to save him for you, but he annoyed me," The two girls shared a look and laughed nervously, both silently agreeing to never get on Natsu's bad side.

Erza changed the topic, saying, "Well, great job Natsu. Now all we need to do is turn Lullaby over to the authorities and-" she was interrupted by Natsu saying,

"Oh, that can't be good," while patting his pocket.

"What can't be good?" Mira inquired. The flame mage shook his head,

"The flute is missing." Erza forgot herself for a moment, grabbing Natsu and pulling him close.

"Are you for real?!" She all but yelled, hurting the dragon slayer's sensitive ears. "You lost a flute of mass death and destruction in the fifteen minutes we left you alone?!" Natsu grinned sheepishly, softly pulling the redhead knight's hands off of his collar, making her blush at the contact.

"My bad. It probably fell out when I crashed into-" He was interrupted by a loud growl coming from the chasm behind him. His eyes widened, and he spun around, his worst fears confirmed. A large monster emerged from the pit, letting out a roar as it stretched for the first time in centuries.

"**Finally, I have awoken!**" The monster boomed. "**I wanted to let those dark mages do it themselves, but it seems that everyone else is incapable of handling me, so I shall play my own song!**" He turned to the trio that stood at the edge where the railroad tracks stood. "**But first... I'll kill you!**"

The awoken form of Lullaby let loose a powerful punch that demolished some of the rock face where the three had just stood. "Make sure he can't sing his song!" Natsu ordered the other two, flames bursting out of his feet, wanting to save some power by not using his wings. He started flying around the beast, sending pink flames everywhere, the heavenly fire being extremely effective on the demon as the wood was set on fire.

Mira and Erza jumped into action, both flying over to join the fight. Mira was letting loose dozens of small beams, cutting tiny holes through the demonic wood, while Erza was flying along and making hundreds of scratches in the beast's outer layer. Lullaby growled, trying to slap the annoying gnats cutting into a few tries, he got lucky and was able to land a solid hit on Erza, sending her flying into one wall of rock, then came back around and slapped Mira into the opposing wall.

Natsu's instincts activated after seeing this, making the dragon slayer snarl as he readied a powerful attack. "_Heavenly Fire Dragon's..._" He held out his fists, a ball of red glowing in one, and a ball of white glowing in the other, both steadily increasing in size. Once they reached a good enough size, Natsu brought his hands together, creating a large ball of pink light. "..._Earthbound Eruption!_" The enraged dragon slayer let the powerful attack rip, cutting a giant hole in the demon's chest.

The beast screamed as Natsu huffed, nearly exhausted from all his power usage as of late. The beast fell to one knee, the impact creating a small earthquake in the surrounding area. Natsu slowly floated down to the remaining train tracks, the flames on his feet sputtering out as his power depleted. Mira floated over, seeing his state, but then looked around wildly for Erza. She couldn't be the better rival if she had no rival!

She spotted the redhead on the other side of the canyon, the girl having shifted back into her Heart Kreuz armor due to being unconscious. Happy finally woke up, and grabbed onto Natsu's back, lifting him up with a bit of a struggle. Below them, Lullaby screamed, "**Fine. Hear my song, and wither!**" He drew in a deep breath, but Natsu smiled as he realized was about to happen.

The breath went nowhere, the wind all whistling out of the many small holes that Erza and Mira had created, as well as the gaping hole in the demon's chest caused by Natsu. Mira stared at the demon, angered at how much she and Erza had been hurt. "_Soul Extinctor..._" She murmured, a large purple beam escaping her hands and decimating the weakened demon... as well as the rest of the train tracks behind him.

* * *

The three, plus Happy and an unconscious Erigor, waited at the canyon for the Rune Knights to show up. After what seemed like hours, a platoon arrived, accompanied by the Guild Masters from Clover Town. Makarov's eyes widened at the sight of his three mages, and then at the destruction behind them. "My money..." He wailed.

"You've done us a great favor, Natsu," Lahar spoke with a slight bit of annoyance at the fire mage, handing him the bounty for Erigor as his men collected the fallen god. The white mask on his face disappeared as his arms were cuffed, allowing him to wake up. He looked around wildly, struggling as the Rune Knights carried him to a prison carriage.

Finally, his eyes settled on Natsu. "Phoenix..." He spoke, apparently becoming calm. "That was good fight. But don't get me wrong. I will escape... and I will hunt you down."

The dragon slayer smiled slyly. "I look forward to it."


End file.
